#ASEDEYHOT – INFANTINO’S ADRICAN POLITCKING PUTS HIM AND FIFA’S OLD WAYS BACK INTO FOCUS

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is reported to be under fresh scrutiny over potential ethics breaches – at a particularly sensitive time.

The highly respected German news magazine Der Spiegel claimed at the weekend that Infantino is once again under review, this time for influencing the outcome of last month’s African presidential election that saw the shock overthrow of long-time powerbroker Issa Hayatou after three decades in charge.

The claims come less than two weeks before the FIFA Congress in Bahrain at which, according to unconfirmed rumours, FIFA’s chief ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert and lead investigator Cornel Borbely may find themselves replaced with the blessing of Infantino.

Eight months ago, ethics officials cleared Infantino over claims that he had abused his position including using private jets, the way he hired and fired staff and his refusal to sign an employment contract. The complaints were ultimately thrown out and deemed internal compliance issues rather than ethical matters.

But Der Spiegel, which broke the sensational story that Germany’s 2006 World Cup organisers used a secret slush fund to buy votes and which led to an official criminal inquiry, now claims Infantino is back on the radar of FIFA’s ethics apparatus.